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This paper summarizes the current knowledge regarding the possible modes of action and nutritional factors involved in the use of essential oils （EOs） for swine and poultry. EOs have recently attracted increased interest as feed additives to be fed to swine and poultry, possibly replacing the use of antibiotic growth promoters which have been prohibited in the European Union since 2006. In general, EOs enhance the production of digestive secretions and nutrient absorption, reduce pathogenic stress in the gut, exert antioxidant properties and reinforce the animal＇s immune status, which help to explain the enhanced performance observed in swine and poultry. However, the mechanisms involved in causing this growth promotion are far from being elucidated, since data on the complex gut ecosystem, gut function, in vivo oxidative status and immune system are still lacking. In addition, limited information is available regarding the interaction between EOs and feed ingredients or other feed additives （especially pro- or prebiotics and organic acids）. This knowledge may help feed formulators to better utilize EOs when they formulate diets for poultry and swine.

The genesis and sedimentary architecture of lacustrine gravity flow deposits include ongoing questions affecting the exploration and development of oil and gas, which require attention and investigation. Based on the core description, logging characteristics, and seismic facies in the third member of Paleogene Shahejie formation from the southern Bohai Bay Basin, this study provides some insights regarding lacustrine gravity flows by analyzing the characteristics, distribution patterns, and sedimentary processes of lacustrine gravity flow deposits. Twenty lithofacies are classified into eight bed types which are caused by cohesive flows, inflated flows, concentrated-density flows, or turbidity currents. The characteristics and distributions of different bed types in five sublacustrine fans with two provenance directions and in a slump olistolith reflect two sedimentary processes influenced by sediment supply, basin structure, and climate, including cohesive flow deposits covered by inflated sandflow deposits transforming into concentrated-density flow deposits into hybrid event beds and finally into turbidity current deposits from inner to outer fan, and cohesive flow deposits transforming into inflated sandflow deposits covered by turbidity current deposits into concentrated-density flow deposits into hybrid event beds finally into turbidity current deposits from proximal to distal lobe. Based on the results, a depositional model of lacustrine gravity flow deposits is established, which highlights the change from superimposed channels to anastomosing channels, the distributions and characteristics of hybrid event beds, and distinctive facies in different elements.

Background As important players in cell-to-cell communication, exosomes (exo) are believed to play a similar role in promoting fracture healing. This study investigated whether exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSC-Exos) could improve fracture healing of nonunion. Methods BMMSC-Exos were isolated and transplanted into the fracture site in a rat model of femoral nonunion (Exo group) every week. Moreover, equal volumes of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and exosome-depleted conditioned medium (CM-Exo) were injected into the femoral fracture sites of the rats in the control and CM-Exo groups. Bone healing processes were recorded and evaluated by radiographic methods on weeks 8, 14 and 20 after surgery. Osteogenesis and angiogenesis at the fracture sites were evaluated by radiographic and histological methods on postoperative week 20. The expression levels of osteogenesis- or angiogenesis-related genes were evaluated in vitro by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The ability to internalize exosomes was assessed using the PKH26 assay. Altered proliferation and migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and mouse embryo osteoblast precursor cells (MC3TE-E1s) treated with BMMSC-Exos were determined by utilizing EdU incorporation, immunofluorescence staining, and scratch wound assay. The angiogenesis ability of HUVECs was evaluated through tube formation assays. Finally, to explore the effect of exosomes in osteogenesis via the BMP-2/Smad1/RUNX2 signalling pathway, the BMP-2 inhibitors noggin and LDN193189 were utilized, and their subsequent effects were observed. Results BMMSC-Exos were observed to be spherical with a diameter of approximately 122 nm. CD9, CD63 and CD81 were expressed. Transplantation of BMMSC-Exos obviously enhanced osteogenesis, angiogenesis and bone healing processes in a rat model of femoral nonunion. BMMSC-Exos were taken up by HUVECs and MC3T3-E1 in vitro, and their proliferation and migration were also improved. Finally, experiments with BMP2 inhibitors confirmed that the BMP-2/Smad1/RUNX2 signalling pathway played an important role in the pro-osteogenesis induced by BMMSC-Exos and enhanced fracture healing of nonunion. Conclusions Our findings suggest that transplantation of BMMSC-Exos exerts a critical effect on the treatment of nonunion by promoting osteogenesis and angiogenesis. This promoting effect might be ascribed to the activation of the BMP-2/Smad1/RUNX2 and the HIF-1α/VEGF signalling pathways.

[...]the infection control experts conducted standardized pre-job training. [...]the infection control experts monitored the entire process before and after the medical staff entering the isolation wards. [...]the COVID-19 outbreak is a significant threat to international health and a big challenge for all of us.

Ultrasonic flowmeters play an important role in industrial production, aerospace and other fields. In this paper, a high-precision ultrasonic flowmeter based on the cross-correlation method is designed, and the commercial finite element software COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6 is used to simulate the propagation process of ultrasonic waves during flow measurement, and the implementation process of the cross-correlation algorithm is simulated by Python language. The flowmeter adopts the cross-correlation algorithm to improve the measurement accuracy of ultrasonic time of flight and adopts the method of combining FPGA and an embedded microprocessor to improve operation efficiency. In order to verify the performance of the flowmeter, we tested the flowmeter on the National Institute of Metrology and the self-built test platform, using the still water dragging method, the dynamic volume method and the field comparison method, respectively. The results show that the flowmeter has the ability to test the flow under the condition of high flow velocity (26 m/s) and a pipe diameter in the range of DN6~DN1600, that the absolute value of the relative indication error does not exceed 0.815% and that the repeatability does not exceed 0.150%. The designed ultrasonic flowmeter has high measurement accuracy, good repeatability, strong stability and a wide application range.

Background The health of the populace is a fundamental pillar for China's sustainable economic growth. Health production efficiency refers to the ability to maximize the health outcomes of residents given a certain level of resource inputs. It reflects the efficiency of resource utilization in the process of health production. This paper evaluates health production efficiency in China, analyzes regional disparities, and explores influencing factors. Methods After constructing an evaluation index system for residents' health production efficiency, this study employs the undesired output-SBM super-efficiency model to measure health production efficiency. Regional disparities in health production efficiency are analyzed using the Dagum Gini coefficient, while a dynamic spatial Durbin model is applied to investigate the influencing factors and spatial spillover effects. Results The findings show: (1) Health production efficiency is generally on the rise nationwide, with eight major economic zones experiencing an increase in provinces with high efficiency and a decrease in those with low efficiency, except for a downturn in 2020 caused by the pandemic. (2) The overall disparity in health production efficiency has been steadily narrowing. Intra-regional disparities among the eight major economic zones vary, while inter-regional disparities have gradually declined but continue to represent the primary source of the overall gap. (3) Health production efficiency exhibits significant and positive spatial spillover effects both temporally and spatially. Per capita GDP exerts strong negative direct and spillover effects on health production efficiency. Residents’ income demonstrates a positive spillover effect, while population density shows a significant negative overall effect. Conclusions This study conducts a comprehensive evaluation of health production efficiency through the construction of an index system, revealing an overall upward trend in health production efficiency. Intra-regional disparities remain the primary source of the overall differences in health production efficiency across China. Policymakers need to address the challenges posed by per capita GDP and population density on health production efficiency while leveraging the positive impact of residents' income levels to promote sustainable and balanced regional development. This study can assist the government in optimizing the allocation of healthcare resources, reducing regional health disparities, and formulating more equitable health policies.

Credit card fraud is a significant problem that costs billions of dollars annually. Detecting fraudulent transactions is challenging due to the imbalance in class distribution, where the majority of transactions are legitimate. While pre-processing techniques such as oversampling of minority classes are commonly used to address this issue, they often generate unrealistic or overgeneralized samples. This paper proposes a method called autoencoder with probabilistic xgboost based on SMOTE and CGAN(AE-XGB-SMOTE-CGAN) for detecting credit card frauds.AE-XGB-SMOTE-CGAN is a novel method proposed for credit card fraud detection problems. The credit card fraud dataset comes from a real dataset anonymized by a bank and is highly imbalanced, with normal data far greater than fraud data. Autoencoder (AE) is used to extract relevant features from the dataset, enhancing the ability of feature representation learning, and are then fed into xgboost for classification according to the threshold. Additionally, in this study, we propose a novel approach that hybridizes Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) and Synthetic Minority Over-Sampling Technique (SMOTE) to tackle class imbalance problems. Our two-phase oversampling approach involves knowledge transfer and leverages the synergies of SMOTE and GAN. Specifically, GAN transforms the unrealistic or overgeneralized samples generated by SMOTE into realistic data distributions where there is not enough minority class data available for GAN to process effectively on its own. SMOTE is used to address class imbalance issues and CGAN is used to generate new, realistic data to supplement the original dataset. The AE-XGB-SMOTE-CGAN algorithm is also compared to other commonly used machine learning algorithms, such as KNN and Light GBM, and shows an overall improvement of 2% in terms of the ACC index compared to these algorithms. The AE-XGB-SMOTE-CGAN algorithm also outperforms KNN in terms of the MCC index by 30% when the threshold is set to 0.35. This indicates that the AE-XGB-SMOTE-CGAN algorithm has higher accuracy, true positive rate, true negative rate, and Matthew’s correlation coefficient, making it a promising method for detecting credit card fraud.

The lithofacies play a pivotal role in studying development patterns, reservoir characteristics, and sweet spot predictions of shale oil. Lithofacies classification typically relies on core observations and conventional well logging analyses, whereas seismic attribute extraction is often employed in regions with sparse or absent wells. However, seismic attribute extraction entails considerable computation and time, and exclusive reliance on seismic attribute analysis can result in multiple interpretations. This paper emphasizes predicting shale oil lithofacies associations based on seismic reflection characteristics and sedimentary facies patterns which can can help avoid these issues. The lithofacies classification scheme has identified seven lithofacies and associations by means of core observations, testing data, and logging curve analysis of the Shahejie Formation in the Huanghekou Sag. Through well-seismic calibration, the seismic reflections and sedimentary patterns of different lithofacies associations were examined to formulate a seismic facies identification chart and propose six models. For areas without wells, based on the distribution of sedimentary facies and in combination with seismic reflection characteristics, identification and delineation are conducted on a planar scale to analyze the distribution features of lithofacies associations. The results of predicting the distribution of shale oil lithofacies associations in the Shahejie Formation indicate that the development pattern of lithofacies associations is basically consistent with that of sedimentary facies units. The primary models developed in the study area encompass delta, sublacustrine fan, and shore-shallow lake. The approach of identifying shale oil lithofacies associations based on seismic reflection and sedimentary backgrounds offers a novel means for discerning lithofacies and associations in sections devoid of cores and specialized well logging data.

Background The health of the population serves as a cornerstone for sustainable economic development and stands as a vital indicator of national prosperity and strength. Based on the theory of health human capital, this study explores the practical issues of enhancing residents' health levels through the synergy of social, ecological, and medical factors. Methods Utilizing provincial panel data from China spanning 2011 to 2020, this research employs entropy methods and dynamic Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to measure the health levels of Chinese residents. The study analyzes the synergistic roles of social, ecological, and medical factors in improving health from both a temporal perspective and a configurational viewpoint. Results No single factor is a necessary condition for achieving high health levels among residents. However, the necessity of per capita health expenditure has been increasing yearly, showing a temporal effect. There are four distinct pathways that can lead to high health levels, which can be further categorized into social-ecological-medical synergistic, social-ecological, and social-medical driven configurations. Temporally, the consistency of configurations 1 and 3 collectively decreased in 2020, likely due to the outbreak of COVID-19, which temporarily shifted the core factors affecting residents' health. Spatially, there are no significant regional effects among the four configurations, indicating that their explanatory power does not significantly differ across provinces. Conclusions The collaborative efforts of social, ecological, and medical factors are found to significantly enhance the health levels of residents in China. Drawing on existing research in the field of public health, the study proposes an analytical framework for understanding the factors influencing health levels. By integrating a configurational perspective into the study of health human capital theory, this research broadens the analytical lens used to examine health levels, offering important theoretical insights and policy implications.

Surface charge polarity and density influence the immune clearance and cellular uptake of intravenously administered lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), thus determining the efficiency of their delivery to the target. Here, we modified the surface charge with ascorbyl palmitate (AsP) used as a negatively charged lipid. AsP-PC-LNPs were prepared by dispersion and ultrasonication of AsP and phosphatidylcholine (PC) composite films at various ratios. AsP inserted into the PC film with its polar head outward. The pKa for AsP was 4.34, and its ion form conferred the LNPs with negative surface charge. Zeta potentials were correlated with the amount and distribution of AsP on the LNPs surface. DSC, Raman and FTIR spectra, and molecular dynamics simulations disclosed that AsP distributed homogeneously in PC at 1–8% (w/w), and there were strong hydrogen bonds between the polar heads of AsP and PC (PO2−), which favored LNPs’ stability. But at AsP:PC > 8% (w/w), the excessive AsP changed the interaction modes between AsP and PC. The AsP–PC composite films became inhomogeneous, and their phase transition behaviors and Raman and FTIR spectra were altered. Our results clarified the mechanism of surface charge modification by AsP and provided a rational use of AsP as a charged lipid to modify LNP surface properties in targeted drug delivery systems. Furthermore, AsP–PC composites were used as phospholipid-based biological membranes to prepare paclitaxel-loaded LNPs, which had stable surface negative charge, better tumor targeting and tumor inhibitory effects.